Palmowski sweeps Day 2 of damp in-season testing at Silverstone

Alisha Palmowski was in fine form on the second and final day of in-season testing, with the Red Bull Racing driver topping both sessions at Silverstone.

In the morning, Palmowski led the way in the drizzly conditions, completing a 2:02.861 late on to take the top spot by six tenths ahead of Ella Lloyd and Megan Bruce. The Briton’s pace continued into the afternoon, with a 2:01.945 putting her 0.077s ahead of Bruce followed by Payton Westcott in third.

MORNING

Grey skies and early morning showers greeted the drivers, leaving the circuit damp and slippery. Bolting on the wet weather tyres, the majority of the field headed out with Campos Racing’s Palmowski and Bruce heading the early reconnaissance laps.

However, their teammate Rafaela Ferreira would bring out the Red Flag inside the first 10 minutes after the Racing Bulls driver found the gravel at Stowe. Lloyd got running back underway on a 2:18.225 and lap times continued to come down slowly over the next hour, despite another Red Flag interruption after a trip to the gravel at Club.

Alba Larsen was the first to break into the 2:15s, before three personal bests from Palmowski put the 19-year-old 1.027s ahead by the end of the first hour.

Gademan was next to take over the P1 spot with a 2:14.372, but her hold would be brief as Larsen and Palmowski traded fastest times. As the track dried up, Lloyd took advantage to post the first sub-2:09s time of the day, moments before Kaylee Countryman brought out the Red Flag once again after going off into the gravel at Club.

The resumption for the final few minutes of running saw a significant jump in times. Larsen, Lloyd, Rachel Robertson and Palmowski each took turns out front, but the Red Bull Racing driver eventually asserted her hold, setting a 2:02.861 on her last lap.

READ MORE: ‘I don't think I could have a better match for this year’ – Granada embracing new challenges in her first single-seaters season

Lloyd followed in second, 0.686s behind Palmowski, with Bruce completing an all-British top three. Larsen finished fourth ahead of Westcott, Robertson, Lisa Billard, Ella Stevens and Emma Felbermayr, as Ava Dobson rounded out the top 10.

AFTERNOON

Robertson quickly got down to business, putting her #56 PUMA car on top with a 2:04.525. Palmowski then picked up where she left off in the morning session, going fastest on a 2:03.268, eclipsing Robertson’s time by over a second.

The Briton continued to improve across her next two push laps, setting the new benchmark time at 2:02.319, while Bruce moved up into P2 and wound up 0.458s behind.

As the sun and blue skies broke through, the Red Flags were waved to recover Dobson from the gravel trap at Luffield. On the restart, Palmowski wasted no time, improving to a 2:01.945. Bruce followed her teammate across the line, only 0.077s off her teammate’s best lap.

With no further improvements out front, Westcott ended the day in third ahead of Lloyd and Dobson. Felbermayr was sixth followed by Robertson, Mathilda Paatz and Gademan, while Larsen finished in P10.

That concludes F1 ACADEMY in-season testing at Silverstone. The action will resume for Round 2 in Montreal from May 22-24.